Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

11 reviews

blyttgh's review against another edition

5.0

09/01/24 the provenance of a story, the intimacy of knowing a stranger, post mortem exhumation

I’m reaching forward through time to touch you… you’re reaching back to touch me. 

He described it as a collaboration with time and place, whose outcome neither he nor any of his contemporaries works ever live to witness, but he was okay with not knowing.

61 

unbounded nature of not knowing

Appendix B

It was hard to get a sense from the diary of the texture of time passing. No writer, even the most proficient, could re-enact in words the flow of life lived

64

it doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you can find something concrete to keep you busy while you are living your meaningless life.

79-80

If you’ve ever tried to keep a diary, then you’ll know that the problem of trying to write about the past really starts in the present: No matter how far you write, you’re always stuck in the then and you can never catch up to what’s happening now, which means that now is pretty much doomed to extinction. It’s hopeless, really. Not that now is ever all that interesting. Now is usually just me, sitting in some dumpy café… moving a pen back and forth a hundred billion times across a page, trying to catch up with myself. 

97-98  

I felt a sense of calm, knowing that all these creatures had lived and died before me, leaving almost no trace. 

265 

I got confused. In my mind, she’s still sixteen. She’ll always be sixteen.

The eternal now. She wanted to catch it, remember? To pin it down. That was the point.

Of writing?

Or suicide.

I’ve always thought of writing as the opposite of suicide. That writing was about immortality. Defeating death, or at least forestalling it.

314 

The amount of ink I waste on foolish outpourings, smashing clocks in my mind, crying out in my imagination. Forget the clock. It has no power over time, but words do, and now I am tempted to to rip up these pages. Is this how I want to be remembered? By these words? By you? 

322-323

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Rape, and Suicide

jesus_wept's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Medical content, Sexual harassment, and Classism

outernetbex's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

it’s always really hard for me to put into words how i feel about books after i read them. the situations in these books are so specific to the characters, and yet somehow the messages and sentiments that the author is able to convey feel so universal. i think it’s a beautifully written piece, that somehow touches on so many different aspects of the human experience. like others have said, the last chapter or so was kind of strange/out of place, but i don’t think it really takes away from the rest of the novel. so compelling and memorable. i have a feeling i’ll be thinking about it for a long time. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

Minor: Torture

this book has a lot of trigger warnings, but i personally don’t think that they are handled well and not written for glorification or gratification. it’s just the nature of writing about dark themes.

audreytallulah's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Xenophobia, Trafficking, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Sexism, Suicide, and Dementia

roseblossom999's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and War

lanid's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and War

jameslyons's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, and Colonisation

amelianotthepilot's review against another edition

mysterious sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

strange surrealist story about a woman in Canada reading a Japanese girl’s diary she found washed up on the beach 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

bugcollector's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and War

courtsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Islamophobia, and Dementia